Samuel Goldberg has been a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney for 20 years. Prior to that, he was a New York state prosecutor. He has published various articles regarding the practice of criminal law and frequently provides legal analysis on radio and television, appearing on outlets such as the Fox News Channel, Court TV, MSNBC and The BBC Network. To speak to Sam about a criminal matter call (617) 492 3000.

28-year-old Darryl B., of Allston, hereinafter, the “Defendant” may have severe legal problems right now, but the man is lucky to be alive. But for the restraint of Massachusetts law enforcement, he would have successfully committed what is commonly referred to as “suicide by cop”.

And the officer would have been justified.

Of course, this is not to say that things look too rosy for the Defendant right now. He is facing a variety of charges after he allegedly pulled a gun on police officers who were chasing him.

Why were they chasing him?

They received a report of an armed robbery near a polling place during Tuesday’s primary election, Boston police said.

Apparently, the police were chasing the Defendant after the report of an armed robbery at about 3:30 p.m. in front of the Jackson/Mann school on Armington Street. He is said to have fled officers on a bike and then, after discarding the bike, ran into the rear of a house on Glenville Avenue where he pulled the gun and pointed it in the direction of an officer.
Then, in an outbreak of good judgment, the Defendant allegedly pointed the gun away from officers and threw the gun away, police said. Indeed, a fully loaded, silver-colored, .25-caliber gun with a pearl-colored handle was apparently found a short distance away.

The tally of charges?

The Defendant was arraigned yesterday morning in Brighton District Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon, and assault by means of a dangerous weapon, police said in a statement.

Because of his sins of the past, the Defendant also stands charged with being a Level III armed career criminal because of prior gun convictions for incidents in 2002 and 2004, Suffolk district attorney’s spokesman Jake Wark said.

The Court ordered the Defendant held on $250,000 cash bail and ordered him to return to court on Sept. 24 for appointment of counsel, Wark said.

The investigation into the case is continuing, police said in a statement.

According to the allegations, this gentleman has had quite a few of them.

In tomorrow’s weekly Friday Attorney Sam’s Take, we will dissect the various charges and what they mean.

Today, though, let’s concentrate on the most important message this case brings to you. It is a message that we have not discussed in awhile, but it can save your life.

Along your travels in life, you may be confronted by law enforcement. The officers may wish to question you. They may even be seeking to arrestyou.

Maybe you are afraid because you feel you are guilty of something. Perhaps you are insulted because you were simply on your way home from your place of worship minding your own business and in spiritual contemplation. You might even be a angered as they have interrupted some long-awaited “partying”.

The thing to do is the same in all these, and other, circumstances.

Do not run, do not fight and, for God’s sake, do not point a weapon at the officers!

You are best off to simply quietly and politely surrender yourself to them and invoke your right to remain silent. Next, get yourself experienced counsel as soon as possible to represent you.

In the long, or short, run, the officers will out-run you. They will out-fight you.

And, yes, they will out-shoot you. And if they need to shoot, they are taught to shoot to kill.

Understand that being a cop is not an easy thing. Whatever your feelings toward them, the officers face life-threatening danger every day, or at least the possibility of it. They will not and can not take many chances in circumstances when it looks like they are about to be attacked. They refuse to lose control of the situation and they do so out of necessity.

Congratulations go out to the officers who did not shoot the Defendant. A sign of relief goes out to the Defendant who finally had the good judgment to put the gun down.

Finally, a warning to you, my readers. You will be better armed in the criminal justice system with an experienced defense attorney than a knife or gun.

You will also have a better chance of staying alive.

Should you wish to discuss such a case with me, please feel free to call me to arrange a free initial consultation at 617-492-3000.

By publishing this information on this Web site, the Boston, Massachusetts law firm of Altman & Altman LLP is not claiming to represent any clients or cases mentioned here. The content provided is designed to inform readers and is not intended as legal advice.